Saints have questions to answer

Brent St. Germain Sports Editor

Tuesday

Jul 24, 2012 at 10:15 AMJul 24, 2012 at 10:16 AM

The long and tumultuous offseason is finally over for the New Orleans Saints.

The long and tumultuous offseason is finally over for the New Orleans Saints.From season-long suspensions due to a bounty scandal to a prolonged contract negotiation, this has been an offseason the Saints and their fans would like to forget.Starting today, that process can finally begin.The Saints officially open training camp today, as players report to the team's training facility in Metairie. The team will hold conditioning tests on Wednesday and hit the practice field for the first time Thursday afternoon.In 12 days, the Saints and Arizona Cardinals will officially kick off the NFL preseason with the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. With the 2012 regular season around the corner, the Saints will have to answer some burning questions throughout training camp.Here are a few of those questions.

CAN THE SAINTS OVERCOME THE BOUNTY SCANDAL?Unfortunately, this will be a question that will plague the Saints throughout the 2012 season.The Saints will be missing two important pieces for the entire season — head coach Sean Payton and starting middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma.Both have been suspended for the season as a result of the bounty scandal. How they cope without Payton and Vilma remains to be seen. The Saints will in all likelihood play with a chip on their shoulders the entire season, and that could be another distraction they will have to cope with.

CAN BREES DO IT AGAIN?Quarterback Drew Brees had a season like no other last year, shattering Dan Marino's 28-year record for most passing yards in a season.Now, everyone wants to know what he will do for an encore.Although he is the only quarterback to pass for more than 5,000 yards in a season twice, asking Brees to do it again will be extremely difficult. Every team on the Saints schedule will enter the game with one thing in mind — stopping Brees. That could be a major obstacle for the All-Pro quarterback to overcome.That leads us to our next question ...

WILL BREES BE READY TO PLAY?Throughout the offseason, Brees was a no-show at the Saints practice facility.Brees was forced to be a spectator during minicamp and the offseason training activities because he was caught up in a contract squabble. Things eventually worked out, and Brees will be on the field for Thursday's first practice.But missing time with his teammates could result in the timing being off between Brees and his teammates.

HOW WILL THE NEW DEFENSE LOOK?In 2011, the Saints had a record-breaking offense.Their defense, however, was another matter and ranked as one of the worst in the league.The Saints addressed that problem in the offseason by hiring former St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo as the team's new defensive coordinator.Spagnuolo has a winning pedigree as a defensive coordinator, as he served in that role when the New York Giants won Super Bowl XLII. He uses a 4-3 defensive scheme that relies heavily on blitz packages.How that translates to the Saints personnel remains to be seen, but the Saints defense has the potential to be vastly improved.

WHO WILL REPLACE MEACHEM?When Robert Meachem left for the San Diego Chargers, it left the Saints with a glaring hole at wide receiver.The Saints still have three solid wide receivers — Marques Colston, Lance Moore and Devery Henderson — on the roster, but they now have a glaring hole at the No. 4 spot.Who fills that role remains to be seen, but candidates are veteran Adrian Arrington, fourth-round pick Nick Toon and former undrafted rookie Joe Morgan. This should be an interesting battle to watch throughout training camp.Those are some questions to answer, but the Saints will find a way to get it done before their Sept. 9 season opener against the Washington Redskins.It's going to be an interesting training camp to say the least.

Brent St. Germain is sports editor of The Courier and the Daily Comet. He can be reached at 857-2239 or 448-7600 ext. 2239 or by e-mail at brent.st.germain@houmatoday.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.